Let me preface this post by saying, no … I am not on Tinder. Nor do I have any desire to take part in the shit show that is online dating. For those of you who brave those tumultuous waters, I bow down to you. My husband and I often joke about how screwed we’d both be if we had to navigate dating in this day and age. Therefore, he’s never allowed to leave.

Even still, there are lessons that we, as authors, can learn from Tinder. The idea of “Swipe Right” is so insanely relevant and obvious for authors, that we need to stop and take a moment to really appreciate the simplicity of it all.

Next week I’m giving a Marketing Talk at Romance GenreCon in Kansas City and I couldn’t be more excited! But one of the things that I noticed is that there are going to be a handful of debut authors in the audience. So to help put me in the right mindset, I’ve created this list of the Top 10 Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make When Publishing Your First Novel.

Calling all Kansas City and Midwest Romance Fanatics and Authors!! Did you see that the Mid-Continent Library is hosting its first-ever Romance GenreCon?

This two-day event on August 3rd and 4th, aims to help authors hone in on their craft with tons of workshops and ends with an awesome Author Fair signing right in the library. Many of the sessions require pre-registration, so be sure to sign up in advance.

And do you see that lil’ session called “Big Time Marketing Tactics for Indie Authors” on the list? Yeah. I’m leading that workshop. So if you want 90 minutes of my nuggets of wisdom and overall ridiculousness, feel free to register and join me. We’ll be diving into the organic and paid landscape of book launches.

If there is anything specific you’d love for me to cover, shoot me an email or drop a comment below. Eventually, things I share in the workshop will make its way to the blog … so it’s a win for all!

It amazes me the number of authors who don’t have websites — or worse, have a website and do absolutely nothing with them. In this technology driven-era, it is imperative to have your own digital home beyond the realm of social media.

We are so reliant on Facebook and other social channels to carry our digital presence, and that’s a risky approach to take. Far too often have I seen authors land in “Facebook Jail” at critical times like release week or get completely banned from running ads.

But rather than wax poetic on the importance of having a website, I want to talk about some of the key elements you absolutely, positively, 120% HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE on your author domain (and yes … you want an actual, ownable domain).

Hands down, one of my favorite books I’ve written is Birthquake. It’s the story of Henley and Jeff, a young couple who accidentally find themselves expecting a child. Let’s be honest … pregnancy and becoming a first-time parent is some heavy stuff. But it’s really freakin’ hilarious, too.

So much of this book was inspired by real-life events as my husband Mike and I welcomed our very own monster squad. In fact, many of Tara’s hilarious best friend moments came directly from my best friend — Mike. My husband is a pretty amazing man and an even more amazing father to our kids.

So to celebrate Mike in a fun (and different) way this Father’s Day, I want to share with you five direct quotes that were said by the love of my life while I was carrying his children.

I wanted to address something with you today that has been bothering me. Maybe you’ve seen it or maybe you haven’t, but an industry lawsuit that was publicized over the past few days called you out as — and I quote — “Unsophisticated consumers.” Actually, the full excerpt was “Unsophisticated consumers aggravate the likelihood of confusion, Hasbro, supra.”

In short, the Plaintiff is essentially calling her readers stupid. Unintelligent to the point where they are blinded by the bare-chested men and attractive women gracing a cover and therefore unable to determine WHO the author is. Because they don’t read the byline. They simple see the word “Cocky” paired with glistening abs and one-click without second thought.